Retention of Word Meanings as a Function of Depth of Processing

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to test the efficacy of depth of processing as it applies to the retention of meanings of unfamiliar vocabulary words. College students viewed 20 target words with definitions for 60 sec. each. 14 subjects in the rote group wrote the word and its definition; the semantic group of 34 wrote sentences using the target word and the pronouns he, she, it, or they; and the 30 self-referencing subjects wrote sentences using the target word and the pronouns I or me. All groups were tested for recall of the word meanings at 5 min. and 3 wk. At 5 min., self-referencing produced significantly higher retention than semantic and semantic was higher than rote. At 3 wk., there was no difference in retention between the processing groups. Reasons for the lack of a long-term effect were discussed.